Speak Clearly Into the Chandelier: Cultural Politics between Britain and Russia 1973-2000 / Edition 1

by John C. Q. Roberts

Overview

This book provides a unique view of British-Russian relations during the last fifteen years of the Soviet regime and thereafter into the post-communist era. As Director of a Foreign-Office-funded organisation promoting professional, intellectual and cultural contacts between Britain and Russia, Roberts earned the trust of leading figures in both countries. At the same time he had to maintain cross-party support in Parliament and the confidence of his Whitehall paymasters. These last occasionally proved as obstructive as the Soviet organisations - all opposed to unfettered contact with western people and ideas - with which he had to maintain a modus operandi. Undeterred by Cold War rhetoric, the author contrived to break down barriers and to earn the trust and gratitude of writers, musicians, theatre and film directors, scientists and even politicians. This is their eye-witness history, no less than his.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700712960
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/29/2000
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; One: The Terrain; One: Initiation; Two: Portrait of a Soviet Cultural Attaché; Three: Conferences at Cross-purposes; Four: Two Festivals; Five: A Tale of Two Spas; Two: Mainly Culture; Six: Scenes from Theatre Life (1); Seven: Musical Interlude; Eight: Scenes from Theatre Life (2); Nine: Writers’ Rites; Ten: On Screen; Three: Mostly Politics; Eleven: Harold Wilson for President; Twelve: Two More Festivals; Thirteen: Taking Hold of Change; Fourteen: End of an Era

Editorial Reviews

'This is an excellent book, and I warmly commend it to all those who are interested in the development of cultural contacts between Britain and the Soviet Union during the height, and decline, of the Cold War.' - Lord Wright of Richmond, Postmaster and Merton College Record

From the Publisher

Speak Clearly Into The Chandelier: Cultural Politics Between Britain And Russia 1973-2000 is the political memoir of John Roberts who was appointed Director of the Great Britain-USSR Association in 1973 (eventually renamed The Britain-Russia Centre). A post he held for almost twenty years. From this unique advantage, Roberts presents the reader with a real-life adventure story set during and after the Cold War and starring a roster of British and Russian cultural and political personalities. His candid, revealing, fascinating account of people and events, politics and compromise, accomplishments and setbacks, in a complex struggle of ideologies is nothing short of riveting. What finally emerges is a respect for the Russian people, their culture, and their efforts to establish a post-communist future. Speak Clearly Into The Chandelier is an informative and welcome contribution to international studies in general, and Cold War era cultural politics in particular.